Fractional CMO and CTO leadership, without two full-time hires.
Your UK SME has capable marketing or technology people, but no senior owner connecting their decisions to commercial priorities.
Sound familiar?
The knot.
The founder becomes the default escalation point, suppliers set their own priorities and the team is busy without a shared direction. Hiring an executor does not fill an executive gap, yet a permanent CMO or CTO may be too much cost, time or capacity for the stage the business is at.
What we do about it
The fix.
Hire the role you need, not automatically both. Mark Ingleby provides fractional CMO and creative leadership backed by 25+ years in brand and campaigns. Ben Macdonald provides fractional CTO leadership backed by 20+ years building businesses and systems. They set direction, lead the relevant team and stay accountable for execution.
What you get.
The deliverables, plainly listed. If it's not here, ask — we'll tell you honestly whether it's included.
- 01 A written mandate covering decision rights, priorities, time commitment, stakeholders and success measures
- 02 A 30-day assessment of team, suppliers, budgets, current plans, risks and immediate decisions
- 03 A marketing or technology roadmap tied to business goals, owners, milestones and resource choices
- 04 Leadership of the relevant team rhythm, including prioritisation, coaching and escalation decisions
- 05 Supplier, hiring and investment recommendations with conflicts, costs and trade-offs made visible
- 06 Concise board-ready reporting on decisions, progress, risks and the next actions that need approval
How this one works.
No discovery phases that outlive the project. Just the steps that earn their place.
- 01 Set the Mandate We decide whether the missing role is CMO, CTO or a tightly defined combination. Authority, responsibilities, access, meeting rhythm, time commitment and measures are written down before the engagement begins.
- 02 Read the Current State The first 30 days cover people, plans, suppliers, budget, data and the decisions already waiting. Immediate risks are separated from longer-term improvement so the team gets useful direction quickly.
- 03 Choose & Resource the Direction We agree the few priorities that deserve capacity, identify what stops or waits, and connect each initiative to an owner, budget, milestone and business reason.
- 04 Lead, Report & Transfer The fractional leader runs the agreed leadership rhythm, makes or recommends decisions within the mandate and reports progress plainly. Capability is documented and transferred so T40 does not become an avoidable dependency.
Why this matters
Fractional leadership is useful only when it changes decisions and develops the team. Mark has owned six-figure marketing budgets and led brand and campaign work across major and SME brands. Ben has run businesses and built systems across operations, SaaS and AI consulting. That experience is relevant because both have made the decisions they now help clients make.
Who this suits
- UK SMEs that need senior marketing or technology ownership but not five days a week
- Founders who remain the decision bottleneck for a capable internal team or agency roster
- Businesses preparing for growth, investment, a major platform change or an executive handover
- Teams that need direction and accountability, not another person producing day-to-day campaign or development tasks
Proof and useful reading.
Examples and practical guides that help you judge the work before starting a conversation.
The questions everyone asks.
If yours isn't here, ask it — we answer emails within 24 hours.
Q1 What is the difference between fractional CMO and CTO?
A fractional CMO owns marketing direction: audience, positioning, demand, budget, suppliers, measurement and team leadership. A fractional CTO owns technology direction: architecture, systems, delivery risk, suppliers, security and technical-team leadership. We scope one role unless the evidence shows both are needed.
Q2 Who would lead our engagement?
Mark Ingleby leads fractional CMO work; Ben Macdonald leads fractional CTO work. Both stay hands-on and can bring in a specialist for defined delivery. The scope names the accountable principal so you know who makes decisions and who attends the agreed leadership rhythm.
Q3 How much time and budget does it require?
The published Growth Accelerate plan is £2,950 per month for one fractional director at a two-days-per-week equivalent, with reporting and team leadership support. A lighter advisory rhythm or multiple executive roles is scoped separately. We agree availability and response expectations in writing.
Q4 Can a part-time leader have real authority?
Yes, if the mandate is real. We agree which decisions the fractional leader owns, recommends or escalates, along with budget limits and reporting lines. If the business wants advice without authority, we will call it advisory rather than pretending it is an executive role.
Q5 What happens when we need a permanent executive?
We can define the permanent role, help assess candidates and hand over the roadmap, decisions and team context. Building a function that can outgrow the fractional arrangement is a successful outcome, not a reason to preserve dependency.
Sound like your problem?
Tell us where it hurts. We’ll tell you honestly whether we can help — and what we’d do first.